2015-16 ski season wrap-up and highlights

Ask just about any avid east coast skier and they’ll likely tell you the best thing about the winter of 2015-16 is that it’s over. I’m not going to disagree with that, but instead of complaining about the limited terrain, the lack of snowfall, discouragingly warm temperatures and repeated rain events that characterized the season, I want to send out a big THANK YOU to the snowmakers and groomers at Gore and Whiteface. Without their hard work, we wouldn’t have had a ski season at all. So…. THANKS!!

2014-15 ski season wrap-up and highlights

I intentionally held off writing my season wrap-up for a couple weeks, holding out hope that I’d find some way to squeeze in one more day. Killington is still open and there’s always Tuckerman Ravine, but the reality for me is the fat lady has sung.

No regrets though. Our ski season spanned six calendar months, from mid-November into April. We had powder days, spring days, cross-country skiing, lots of tree skiing, the slides at Whiteface and our first family trip out west.

2013-14 ski season wrap-up and highlights

The winter of 2013-14 will likely be long remembered by both skiers and non-skiers for its persistent cold weather. Monthly average temperatures for the entire November - March period registered several degrees below the long-term average, and the term “Polar Vortex” seemed to filter into everyday conversation. The emduring cold gave skiers a season spanning six calendar months, with Gore and Whiteface logging their earliest-ever openings in mid-November. Gore closed last Sunday, April 20, but Whiteface may hang in for a record late closing in May. Stay tuned.

Early season packed powder with a view of the High Peaks. Gore, January 4:

2012-13 ski season wrap-up and highlights

Objective measures like snowfall, temperatures and operating days for the 2012-13 ski season may tally up only to the average mark, but compared to last year’s disappointing ski season 2012-13 was vastly improved. And if timing is everything, this winter really delivered with excellent conditions for the major holiday periods and just about every weekend. It will be interesting to see the official numbers from ORDA when they are released in a few months, but it sure looked like Gore had several days of record-breaking skier visits, particularly around the New Year’s holiday.

What we really missed last year was skiing in the glades, and we were rewarded this year with good tree skiing from late December through the end of the season. Things really got going in the couple of days following Christmas, when two feet of powder fell over a bomber base. And although winter was interrupted by two ugly thaws in January and one in early March, the trees essentially remained in play all winter.

Northeast pre-season ski stoke, "best of" edition

Some of the best pre-season images from ski areas around the northeast over the past week or so:

Whiteface, October 12:

2011-12 Ski Season Wrap-up and Highlights

You wouldn't necessarily know it from the title of my article in Adirondack Almanack earlier this week - 2011-12 Ski Season the Worst in 20 Years - but I actually had a very good, maybe even excellent, ski season. Of course, that article was more about the decline in skier visits at Adirondack ski centers (and nationwide) than about my own personal experience this winter. To some extent, a skier's season is what he or she makes of it.

Jeff's Highlights: 2010-2011 Ski Season

It’s been such a great ski season that I’m reluctant to call it “over.” You don’t have to be a skier to know that the winter of 2010-11 was longer, colder and snowier than recent winters. Although the ski season got off to a slow start, skiers were rewarded for their patience with a streak of snow and consistent cold that started in early January and ran well into spring. And once spring finally did arrive, you might argue that the skiing got even better.

Whiteface Toll Road, November 6

Adirondack Climbs: Jeff's Favorites

I’ve always been a hiker, but about 10 years ago peak-bagging and slide climbing followed a natural progression that led me into rock climbing. Living north of Albany, most of my climbing has been done in the Adirondacks. Following are a few favorite Adirondack climbs.

Jeff's Ski Season Highlights 09-10

In some ways, the 09-10 ski season was “challenged.” We had a late start, an early finish, and a prolonged snow drought in between. But despite those difficulties, I had my best ski season in at least 6 or 8 years. A good deal of that satisfaction came from skiing together as a family for the first time and observing our son’s progress over the winter. And some of that satisfaction came from plain old great skiing. Here are some highlights from a few of those days:

Sagamore, Feb 6